The Things About 9/11 That Nobody Under 30 Can Remember

Hard to believe it's been 25 years since the 9/11 attacks. Every year I go back and forth about whether people still want to hear us talk about it on the morning show. After all, we're supposed to be Fun 107, not Serious 107.

However, I distinctly remember the first few years after 9/11 I promised myself that for as long as I was on the air, I'd always pause and remember that unthinkable day. As the oldest member of The MGM Show (and Fun 107, for that matter), I feel it is my responsibility to share the memories I have of living through the attack on America's homeland.

Think about it. This all happened 25 years ago, so most 30-year-olds (who were only 5 at the time) won't have any working memory of that day.

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September 11th Was Not a One-Day Event

The first thing I'll say is this: September 11th wasn't just a one day event. It stretched on for weeks. Months. There was a pall over our nation. My heart ached as I watched the people of New York holding up pictures of their mom, their kids, their husbands and wives, begging in front of the TV cameras to let them know if anyone had seen their loved ones.

What Life Felt Like Before 9/11

Before 9/11, we were so naive to think we were untouchable. We thought the blanket of security that America provided could and would keep us safe. It was depressing and scary to realize that we were so wrong and very much vulnerable. It was even worse to know that the world had changed forever. The world we grew up in would never, ever be the same.

The Good That Came Out of September 11th

Believe it or not, there was a lot of good that came out of September 11th, and I don't think our enemies ever predicted that. I remember politicians from the right, left, and center ending that fateful day on the steps of Congress, arm in arm, singing "God Bless America." They were not Democrats. They were not Republicans. They were Americans.

In the days and weeks after the attacks, American flags became scarce. People rushed to the stores to buy them, and they'd sell out as quickly as stores could stock them. Local factories started printing American flag stickers for drivers to put on their back window.

People in traffic suddenly became polite with one another, waving each other on and giving compete strangers the right of way. We knew that other people were hurting, just like we were, and we all had sympathy for one another.

There were real life heroes that came out of 9/11. We stopped using the word "heroes" to describe football players, and instead used it to point out true American heroes like Todd Beamer (who made "Let's Roll" an indelible part of America's history).

Who Was Welles Crowther, the Man in the Red Bandana?

And there was a Boston College lacrosse alum named Welles Crowther, a stockbroker working in the World Trade Center. Crowther was the man wearing a red bandana, who instead of saving his own life ran up and down the stairs of the doomed building helping people get to safety. His life was lost that day because he decided to put others' lives ahead of his. Welles was honored this week with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Every year at Boston College, they play the "Red Bandana" football game in his memory.

So, yes, sharing stories like these on the air is important. I will keep the promise I made to myself for another year. I suppose as the years continue to go by and more and more people are too young to remember 9/11 (or weren't even born yet), it will become even more critical to share our firsthand experiences with the young.

Because we will never forget.